Squish and Squash

4.30 alarm today. Not what we really wanted but the train will leave without us if we don't wake up.

It got close to the time we needed to leave the house and we had no transport. The car we had hoped to use was still on its journey from Bhopal.  Panic levels were rising ...however we were assured it would be here in time. And, then the car arrived. We were taken by our friend to the station, collected our tickets but the train was running 30 minutes. We said goodbye and thanked our friend before drinking Chai on the platform ...

The train turned up Darryl got on. The carriage was rammed. Darryl got off ... But only just. It was just too full. Christine managed to get herself into a special carriage and even managed to get a seat. Darryl soon followed. We were very, very, very lucky! The carriage gradually packed out along the journey and we started to wonder how we would get out. A 10 minute shuffle, squeeze and breath hold exercise did the trick. We made it, we were standing on the platform.

Mathura was our stop. It is a holy city as Lord Krishna was born here. It didn't feel very holy as we walked the polluted streets to find a) lunch b) the Shri Krishna Janmasthan temple.

We did finally find lunch which was a large skinless baked potato in a bowl full of spicy chutney. It was pretty good and the first time we had seen anything like this. The temple was closed until 4pm so we had plenty of time to walk there. The walk was a little dissapointing. It was a big, stinky city walk.

At the temple security was high. We handed in our, bags, phones and water bottles. At the next desk we left our shoes. We had our passports examined twice and were frisked by the guards. Police with large guns hid behind standing steel shields.

We explored the temple complex and the birth place of Krishna - a tunnel had been made and you walked through viewing some interesting displays of Krishna. We didn't really understand why and no one could explain. We drank Lassi, purchased water in plastic bottles and awaited the grand temple opening at 4pm. There was a queue at 4 o'clock and the crowd rushed in. Everyone sat and waited for the curtain at the front to open. The curtain opened, everyone was very excited as a statue of Krishna was revealed. It looked like every other statue we have seen but for the crowd this one was very special. Probably the end of a a very long journey for some.

For us what stood out the most was the paintings oon the ceiling. They were really nice. No one else seemed to look up but focused on the statue of Krishna.

Shoes and bags collected. We did not even need to tell the assistant our bag number. It just appeared with our shoes inside. We are obviously standing out a little and our faces easy to remember.

We walked a while towards our friend's house but eventually decided it was a little awkward to cross the main road. This road is the major trunk road from the north to the south of India. We think it is probably uncrossable, so got an auto for the rest of the way. We guided the auto driver most of the way but jumped out early when we saw a bridge crossing the main road. We were heading in the wrong direction on the carriage way so it was easier to get out and cross by ourselves. It was only later in the evening that we realised we could have driven the wrong way down one of the streets to make life a lot easier. This, of course, is perfectly normal in India but a little alien to us.

The crossing bridge was used by motorbikes. Whether they were meant to use it or not! Goats were also using the bridge with their shepherd. After the bridge we had a close encounter with a cow. Usually you just walk on by and they don't even blink. However, as Darryl approached this one he moved to the left to avoid it. The cow moved in front of Darryl. Darryl moved to the right but the cow blocked his path again and moved in front of him. A little strange and later we asked our friend why. People coming home from work feed the cows chapatis. The cow thought Darryl had a chapati for him! Quite cute but the cows have big horns!

We are staying on the 10th floor in an apartment. I chatted, Christine slept. We made it out for dinner at about 9pm to an air conditioned fancy restaurant nearby. Indian restaurant prices and assured quality, so we were told. Mutter Paneer and tandoori rotis later all was well.

We strolled back to base and slept.